Chapter Fifty: The Beauty of the Valley

  Walking on the land of Guizhou, everywhere is plateau and mountainous terrain. The terrain in the territory is high in the west and low in the east, sloping from the central to the north, east and south sides, with an average elevation of about 1100 meters. Guizhou has more plateau and mountainous terrain, known as "eight mountains, one water, and one field". Song Qingchu wanted to cross Guizhou to go west, naturally, the higher the terrain he walked.

  The most troublesome thing about traveling in the mountains is that you have to be mentally prepared to often use the sky as your blanket and the earth as your bed, and be ready for wind and dew at all times.

  If it were in a past life, Song Qing thought he wouldn't dare to think about it, let alone sleeping outdoors, just saying that climbing mountains and crossing ridges all day wasn't something he could handle.

  That night, Song Qingchu walked to a place where there was no village in front and no store behind, so he had to make do with spending the night in the wilderness.

  However, after traveling all along, Song Qing often slept outdoors and got used to it.

  Tonight, a bright moon is in the sky, and flames are rising. After dinner, Song Qingchu drew out his three-foot green-edged sword and began to dance with it.

  A bright mirror hangs high, a cool breeze brushes against my face, I draw my sword and leave an impression, but unfortunately there is no beautiful woman to accompany me.

  In this atmosphere, Song Qing felt quite comfortable and suddenly thought of a poem, feeling it was quite fitting for the scene, so he began to recite: "Alone sitting in the quiet bamboo forest, playing the zither and sighing long, deep woods people do not know, bright moon comes to shine together."

  This "Bamboo Creek Pavilion" is a five-character poem written by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei in his later years when he lived in seclusion at the Blue River. The poem describes the charm of living in a secluded mountain forest, and belongs to the category of leisurely emotions and occasional dispatches. The language and sentences are simple and elegant, conveying the poet's quiet and calm mood, and showing a realm that is clear, quiet, elegant and transcendent.

  Unfortunately, I am not sitting alone in a secluded pavilion, but rather in a withered forest; nor am I playing the zither and singing a long song, but rather dancing with a sword and singing a long song. However, it is indeed true that people deep in the forest are unaware of me, and the bright moon comes to shine on me.

  But I myself don't have Wang Wei's poetic and serene, elegant and otherworldly realm.

  Now I'm just a free and easy wanderer, enjoying the thrill of adventure and revenge. Maybe someday I'll have a sense of urgency brought on by the passing years, but that's in the future, not now.

  Suddenly a faint zither sound was heard, and Song Qing's spirit was shaken. 'Could it be that there is still someone else who has fallen to the ends of the earth?' Song Qing thought to himself.

  Song Qing came with enthusiasm and left upon hearing the news.

  In the midst of this flute sound, although all around is a desolate landscape, and it's played solo at night, yet it doesn't feel lonely, but rather has an elegant and refined quality like a secluded valley.

  Following the sound of the ocarina, walking in the moonlight, the ancient trees and withered wild grass on the mountain, a stream flows from the northwest border to the southeast, both banks are full of maple trees, at this time of autumn, some maple leaves turn red, red, yellow and green shine together, creating rich color levels, the scenery is extremely beautiful.

  Crossing the maple forest, wearing a mountain gorge, the scenery suddenly changes, only to see the dense woods, the pool and the mountain are connected by the rushing stream, the mountain valley is like a layered stage, the high and low waterfalls fly down, the sound of the water is loud, I doubt that there is no road, but there is another cave sky, with a wonderful scenery.

  The wild trees lean against the pool, surrounded by mountains and winding roots. The moss flows with green water, and the water either rushes down or falls in layers, hitting the stubborn rocks, forming countless swirling and splashing scenes that move people.

  As they proceeded forward, passing through a forest of ancient trees that reached the sky, Song Qing suddenly felt a flash before his eyes, and behind this forest, he saw a mountain valley.

  Entering the valley, it's a different world. The entrance of the valley is small, and with the trees outside blocking the view, it's not easy to be discovered. If he hadn't followed the sound of the flute specifically to find this place, it would have been difficult to discover easily. But inside, it's quite large, resembling a gourd.

  In the valley, there is a waterfall. Although it's already deep autumn now, the waterfall still hasn't dried up.

  Next to the waterfall is a bamboo forest, although it's deep autumn, but the bamboo forest still looks lush and green.

  On the other side of the waterfall, there are several thatched cottages and a bamboo building.

  The sound of the flute was coming from the bamboo building, which was an open-style one, with only four pillars supporting it at the corners and a waist-high railing below, but no enclosure or shelter on all sides. Song Qing stood in the valley and could clearly see the situation inside the bamboo building.

  In the bamboo building, there was a woman leaning on the railing and sitting, wearing a green dress, playing the pipa.

  The sound of the Xiao is wonderfully strange, with unpredictable pauses and changes. The breathing between notes, the turns between phrases, all come together through the sound of the Xiao to create a sense of unbroken continuity, even when interrupted, leaving only a lingering feeling that refuses to dissipate. Its fiery passion has reached an extreme state, achieving a realm of ultimate beauty in the art of the Xiao.

  The sound of the sheng gradually changed from being on the verge of breaking to becoming entangled and unrelenting, yet it transformed into something soft and delicate. Although it was full and overflowing in the quiet valley where every inch of space seemed to be filled with an otherworldly presence, there was still a hint of something mysterious and elusive coming from afar. The melody that intoxicated people's hearts and souls was like a heavenly music echoing through some mystical and solitary realm, evoking each person's deeply hidden sorrows and joys, stirring up unbearable nostalgia and longing.

  Xiao Yin's voice changed again, a kind of extremely introverted passion burst out through the bright and clear notes, as if gently telling the story in everyone's heart.

  The sound of the sheng (a Chinese free reed instrument) is intermittent.

  "Alas, on such a night, to be able to hear a heavenly melody, it's truly not a wasted trip." Although Song Qingyu came searching for the sound out of curiosity in her heart, now that she has heard such a wonderful xiao melody, she can't help but secretly sigh. "This tune should only exist in heaven, how often can one hear it in the mortal world?"

  "Honorable guest arriving at the door, I, a humble girl, have failed to welcome you from afar. Please forgive me." A sweet and gentle female voice that was beyond words came from the bamboo building.

  "It's over there, at Xiaotangdu. I'm afraid I've disturbed the young lady's pleasure." Song Qingchu came back to his senses and bowed his head in greeting.

  "Hehe, it's better to meet by chance than to be formally invited. In this deep mountain, it's rare to find a kindred spirit! Young master, why don't you move your steps to the bamboo building and let's have a chat?"

  "It's better to obey than to show respect, please forgive me for the disturbance." Song Qing said, and stepped towards the bamboo building.

  "Valley of Empty Splendor!" This was Song Qing's first impression upon seeing the woman.

  Facing the night wind brought by the bright moon, a pale blue long shirt fluttered in the wind, unable to express its elegance and freedom. She gazed at the clear stream with ease and composure. On the table lay an ancient sword with a classic design, adding a hint of heroic spirit to her, as if reminding others that she not only possessed unparalleled beauty but also unmatched swordsmanship.

  Her presence seems to purify all the complexities, and her "arrival" transforms everything into a realm of empty mountains and spiritual rain, like truth and illusion, moving people to the extreme. Although she appears in the mortal world, she seems to be a celestial maiden descending from the nine heavens, 'emerging from the muddy water without being stained, washing in the clear pool without being seduced'.

  Song Qingchu was stunned for a moment. It's not that Song Qingchu hadn't seen beauties before, let alone in his past life, but even in this life, Yin Susu is a beauty (of course, Zhou Zhiruo is also one, she just happens to be a little loli now). But compared to the person in front of him, Song Qingchu found that others lacked a certain 'natural elegance'.